Make Us Disappear
by klaineography
Summary: Blaine Anderson falls for a duke, Kurt Hummel. Blaine is a lowly peasant and their relationship is strictly prohibited. Blaine wants to be a famous Illusionist & shows Kurt what he can do. In a tale of lies, deception, & loss can love prevail over evil?
1. You Know Me

**Author Notes:** This fic is based on one of my favourite movies, _The Illusionist._ Whether you've seen the movie or not should not affect how you read this story. If you haven't seen it, the plot twists will come as more of as surprise obviously. This fic will focus on the evolution of Blaine and Kurt's relationship more prominently than the relationship is featured in the movie. The chapter names are also taken from the titles of songs on the soundtrack.

For the purposes of the story, homosexuality is accepted (at least to the same degree as it is today). Homosexuality would not have actually been accepted during the time period that this is written in _at all_ (which is the 1880s) but I would rather avoid that issue and focus on the love storyline instead. I'm a romantic. If you have problems with that, you probably shouldn't read this because yes, that part will be _entirely_ factually inaccurate.

This story will contain some mature themes that I don't want to post warnings for because it will ruin surprises in later chapters. Just note that it's rated mature for a reason. I will say there will be violence and sexual themes in future chapters.

With all of that said, please enjoy my first attempt at a multi-chaptered fan-fiction. :) Reviews and feedback would be very much appreciated!

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><p>Blaine Anderson was a peasant and no one let him forget that fact.<p>

As far as the rich and royal were concerned he was a nobody; a disgrace. But regardless of that fact, things were good for Blaine Anderson. His parents Thomas and Ella gave him a good life with what they could manage. His father was a very skilled cabinetmaker. Blaine spent most of his childhood alongside Thomas, watching him work and preparing to one-day work in the same trade. He lived a typical life as most children his age did, being raised by their parents to take over their family's business. Over the years Blaine had become very skilled himself in building things from scratch. He loved to sketch designs and carve things with extra wood blocks from his father's shop when allowed. He was an incredibly talented worker at only 16 years old, and he did enjoy what he was learning.

He and his parents lived in a small home in Vienna, Austria-Hungary among similar peasant families on the outskirts of the main village. Vienna was a marvelously beautiful city. His family's home was rooted in the countryside; farm country to be exact. His house was admittedly small, a single floor building with two bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom and a common room. It was made up of wood and stone; his great grandfather had built the home decades ago. Next to the house was a newer addiction: his fathers' shop, which was basically a smaller duplicate of the house itself. The house and shop were surrounded by a low wooden fence, decorated with common shrubs along the pathway from the main road. Their property was plain and ordinary, but Blaine didn't mind.

It was one seemingly normal day that would change Blaine's life forever. He had been walking home from the main village where he liked to frequent after work or when he wasn't working with his father. It was a much more sophisticated and architecturally beautiful place than the area he lived. The buildings were made of white stone with burnt orange roofing, which sat along a small river that cut through the land. There were shops, houses and people there all the time. The village sat at the gates of the castle where the royal family resided.

Blaine was on his way home, walking silently along the dirt path carved out be horse-drawn carriages over many years of heavy traffic. The land here was all open country, mowed down for corn and wheat crops. The land was vacant for miles except for a large oak tree that seemed to grow from nowhere right beside the path. Well, that was curious. Blaine had walked this path a hundred times at least and never had that tree been there before today, he was sure of it. Surely he would have noticed a giant tree, right?

As he approached he noticed a small old man sitting silently underneath. Blaine wondered to himself if he should greet the man, who was now simply looking up at him through long, grey lashes mostly covered by a tattered black hat. The man was dressed entirely in black from head to toe which made his grey facial hair stand out even more prominently. He looked so old and fragile. The man remained silent and Blaine began to feel uneasy as he moved closer, coming to a stop a few feet away from him under the shade of the tree.

All was silent for a moment too long. Then, the man waved his left hand swiftly without words and a small frog appeared in his hand. The frog flailed wildly as if plucked out of a peaceful sleep, long legs flapping in a panic. Blaine looked down at the frog in amazement, not quite comprehending what had just happened. Where on earth did the frog come from?

The man remained emotionless. He closed his hand around the frog and turned it over slowly, bringing up his right hand to pull a healthy rose from the space between his thumb and finger. Blaine furrowed his brows. How could a frog possibly turn into a rose? He opened his hand to illustrate that the frog had now disappeared. The rose was definitely real. He admired the soft red petals and dark green stem, noting the lack of thorns. It was physically impossible to have fit that rose with its long stem in his closed fist and yet the man had done just that.

The man held the rose vertical in the air, fingers barely keeping grip on the end of the stem. The man was not finished. He brought his gaze to Blaine's as if telling him to watch closely. Blaine was terrified by the man's tortured eyes. They were cold, grey and lifeless. Blaine flicked his gaze to the rose as silently instructed but the man kept his eyes on Blaine. A beat, then the man gave the rose two shakes and the rose instantaneously turned into a wooden flute of the same size. The man continued to look at him still, not even acknowledging the flute as it started to float out of his hand and up into the air on its own accord.

Blaine watched as the flute floated slowly upwards and away into the air, his eyes wide in utter confusion. Just as he thought he would lose sight of the flute, it morphed into a beautiful blue and black butterfly and scuttled off into the distance. He quickly turned back to the man who was now hunched in on himself. To Blaine's surprise, the man slowly began to disappear right before his eyes. As if the entire situation had been some extreme figment of his imagination, the tree vanished in an instant as well. It just popped right out of existence. An entire tree. Gone. There weren't even any fallen leaves to prove it existed in the first place. Blaine tumbled backwards on his feet, landing ungracefully on the ground.

He slowly brought his knees to his chest, the heels of his shoes dragging through the dirt below. His mind was reeling. What had he just seen? Who was this old man? Where on earth did he come from? Why had he presented himself to Blaine and shown him this?

_A magician… _Blaine thought to himself, unable to move from his spot in the road. He was enthralled and very intrigued by the show that he had just witnessed. He wanted to know more.

When Blaine finally found himself back at home, he didn't inform anyone of his encounter with the strange old man. A part of him wondered if he really was imagining things. The walk from the main village back home was fairly long and the weather was hot, truthfully he could have imagined it. His father had joked more than once about Blaine's 'wild imagination'.

He recalled the man's face; it was so emotionless and almost broken looking. It was full of deep wrinkles and weathered leather skin unlike any face he'd ever seen. He wondered how old the man was, he was definitely older than any person he'd ever met. Then again he did live in a poor area where people died earlier compared to the wealthy people of the main village, and the royalty that lived there. Blaine guessed the man was probably a traveling magician. Now he really wished he would have had the chance to talk to him, ask him where he had been and the thing she had seen.

Blaine sat himself on the floor next to his bed, tossing a small red ball between his hands. He became obsessed with the tricks. The idea of magic had easily taken over his mind. He pondered how the man had made the frog first appear. Blaine had clearly seen there was no frog in his hand to begin with. There is no way he wouldn't have noticed the man pulling the frog from his pocket or sleeve like some cheap trick. With a flick of the wrist the uncoordinated live frog had appeared in his open hand. Blaine imagined himself making the frog appear, flicking his wrist in the same way. Of course, no frog magically appeared there. He sat back against his dresser, the back of his head bumping off the drawer behind him. He moved the red ball from hand to hand again. Maybe he should start smaller.

A few weeks later found Blaine walking the streets of Vienna once again. He was on a mission. He was carrying a wooden stick in his right hand horizontally, balancing an egg on the end of it as he walked. He was working on his concentration and balance, mostly to prove to himself that he could do it. He was using his mind to keep the egg from falling off the end of the thin, rounded stick. During the few weeks of practice he had actually become quite good with small tricks. He had shown no one what he was learning and working now. Even now, no one would know what he was doing with the egg. Anyone with common sense would know keeping the egg there on the end of a stick was impossible with just plain determination. However they would probably just shake their hand and continue walking (which they did), wondering what kind of strange boy walks through town with an egg. Blaine resisted laughing at their blind stupidity.

As he crossed the street, he vaguely noticed four young boys around his age on tall brown quarter horses waiting for him to pass. He knew the boys; everyone in Vienna knew the boys. First was Benjamin, and then there was Elijah and close beside him was Harold. He didn't particularly care for any of them. They were born into incredibly wealthy families and looked down on people like Blaine (who made up most of the Vienna population). It was the boy on the end that caught his attention the most. It was young Kurt Hummel, Duke of Teschen. He was born into wealth and royalty like the other boys, but he was different. Kurt never made jeers at Blaine like the other boys. In fact, Blaine had never heard him speak at all. It wasn't like he got to see the boy often, he only saw him when he went riding with the other boys through town. The first time Blaine ever saw the boy was years ago. He had been captivated in a way he still didn't quite understand. Kurt was enchanting to say the least. Kurt was also a duke and the wealthy did not acknowledge the poor, and that was all that Blaine was. He wasn't sure if he would ever be able to accept that fact.

Unbeknownst to a preoccupied Blaine, Kurt was smiling and watching him as he slowly made his way across the street. He was mesmerized by the short, curly haired boy with the egg.

"Don't drop it!" Benjamin sniggered.

"Careful, you're going to trip!" Called Elijah.

"_Ally rat_." Harold spat, clearly repulsed by Blaine's presence. He pulled his horse to steer right and away from Blaine, taking the other two hateful boys with him. Kurt however continued to watch Blaine with a small fond smile. As Blaine made his way down the road towards the river, he followed him on horse. Blaine was acutely aware that Kurt was now following him but he was still trying so hard to concentrate on the egg. Any wrong movement or slip of concentration would send it falling to the ground easily. Kurt was probably just waiting to ride around him; it wasn't like Kurt knew who he was. He was a no one, certainly not in the same social class as Kurt Hummel. He was certainly not deserving of an actual conversation with him. Blaine was under servant status, and that was being generous. The only thing worse would to have been a beggar, living on street corners begging just to stay alive. No, Blaine wasn't quite that unfortunate and he was grateful for that.

"What are you doing?" Kurt called behind him. Kurt's voice cut through him and he froze up. Kurt's voice was heavenly. Though he probably shouldn't have been so surprised, Kurt himself was _incredible_. His features were soft and vaguely effeminate. He had gorgeous chestnut hair cut short, most of which was hiding under a small olive bowler hat. His jacket matched the hat colour perfectly, which was buttoned up tightly around his neck with sleeves that flowed down to his wrists. He was wearing black riding gloves and dark slacks. How Blaine could possibly have noticed all of this while trying to concentrate on the egg, he did not know. Kurt was already proving to be a disturbance to his training and they hadn't even been properly introduced.

"I'm practicing." Blaine said simply, a little choked off. He knew that answer wouldn't suffice. He was trying so hard not to let the egg slip that he was actually making it worse. He had been trying to make it across the village with the egg intact but as he turned to walk alongside the river, the egg slipped and cracked open against the dirt road. He let out an exasperated sigh as he gazed down at the clear and yellow liquid now oozing from the cracked white shell. He heard Kurt giggling behind him.

"What exactly are you practicing for?" He question from his seated position through a chuckle, bringing his right hand up to stroke down the horses neck. The horse came to a stop a ways behind him.

"Do you really want to know, Duke Hummel?" Blaine stared at the broken egg. He was agitated that all his work had been for nothing. He still was not mentally strong enough through all of his practicing. He started to believe that he would never be. Blaine turned around, finally making eye contact with the boy on the horse. He figured it was only appropriate to address Kurt formally. He was engulfed by the kind blue eyes that greeted him. They were more beautiful than he had ever realized. Kurt was smiling softly, pink lips stretched upwards into a smile.

"Yes, of course. Why else would I ask, Mr. Anderson?" Kurt replied coyly with a tilt of his head. Blaine couldn't help but scoff out a laugh at that. He'd never been called Mr. Anderson in his life; certainly not while his father was still around. He knew Kurt was only teasing him. Then, Blaine realized: Kurt knew his name, his last name anyways. He felt a flutter in his chest at the realization; Kurt was still looking at him expectantly.

"I'm working on becoming an Illusionist." Blaine said simply with a stiff nod, trying to keep his sentences short to minimize the chance of embarrassing himself. This was the first time Blaine had told anyone what he was doing. Blaine backpedaled in his mind. Why exactly had he just told a duke that he was working on magic tricks? _God, I'm an idiot_. He awaited the laughter that was sure to come from his confession. Blaine was half glad he had decided that go with the word 'Illusionist'. 'Magician' sounded too childish and it would be difficult working on things if no one would take him seriously.

"You mean like magic and things of that nature?" Kurt looked curious, hand still petting down the horses neck as it shifted on its' feet.

"Ye-yes." His voice faltered slightly as he continued to gaze into the other boys' eyes. He realized he found himself unable to look away.

"That's amazing," Kurt said with a breath, looking out over the water. "I've never met anyone so young who could do magic before. I find it fascinating. We've had magicians come entertain for dinner and I always watch. I try to see exactly what they're doing; try to figure out what their secrets are. But at the same time, I almost don't want to know because then it will be ruined for me and the mystery will be gone." He turned his gaze back to Blaine who was staring at him with wide but gentle hazel eyes. Not only did Kurt not make fun of him, he seemed to very much enjoy it. "Can you do any tricks?" Blaine nodded.

"Only small tricks right now, I've only just started you see." Blaine found himself wishing he knew some big trick that he could do to impress Kurt, to blow him away. He vaguely wondered why he wanted to impress Kurt so much.

"Could I see one?" Kurt blushed a little at his inquiry.

"I don't have any props or anything with me…" Blaine sighed, looking back and down at the egg and wishing he had brought a deck of cards or something with him today. Today if any day would have been the perfect day to have brought something with him. Kurt looked dejected, stroking his fingers through the horses' mane and setting his gaze to the ground.

"If-" Blaine caught himself, clearing his throat to try and make it sound more confident than he felt. "You could always come to my house; I could show you some things there?" His proposal ended in more of a question. He was nervous and already regretted asking Duke Hummel to come visit his house. Why would a duke want to visit a peasant house? He felt the embarrassment of being lower class flare at his heart and crawling through his veins. He never minded being a peasant; he had a good life which he was grateful for. But as he looked up at Kurt, he saw an unattainable friendship. A duke and a peasant could not be friends; it just wasn't the way. Kurt had rich friends who played croquet and drank tea and scoffed at the poor. Friends who wore white suits and top hats and carried canes. Friends who were not peasants like Blaine. Without even saying a word the idea Kurt tore at his core.

He ran his mildly dirty hands through his hair absently, pushing back the curls and trying to tuck them behind his ear hopelessly. He worried his bottom lip between his teeth. Blaine was too afraid to meet Kurt's gaze now, too terrified of seeing what disgust or what pity lay there.

"I'd love to." Kurt said softly. Blaine jerked his head up, wondering if he'd really heard Kurt speak those words.

"You- you would?" Blaine stuttered again, cursing himself internally for being so utterly and completely flustered. Kurt nodded and smiled again; he had the most beautiful smile Blaine had ever seen. The boy himself was radiant; clearly the looks of royalty were bred into him. Most of Kurt was covered in the olive outfit he wore but the skin face was milky white. Blaine felt slightly weak in the knees. While the colour and style of his clothes were too much for Blaine to pull off successfully, it suited Kurt perfectly.

"We can ride together, if you like." Kurt piped in, pulling off his riding glove and extending his hand to Blaine. Blaine took a moment to look at Kurt's hand, which was nothing like his own. His hands were ugly; calloused and discoloured from working with his father. Too many times he'd let a hammer slip and the adverse affects of sanding were evident. Blaine guessed that Kurt had never worked a day of manual labour in his life, and would probably never have to given his status. He was silently jealous of the life Kurt led.

How did it come to this? How did it come to Duke Hummel extending his beautiful hand to him? How was this not a dream? Blaine contemplated pinching himself to be sure, and then decided against it for fear of making the situation awkward. _Yes because pinching myself casually in front of Kurt would so not be weird at all._

His heart leapt as he crossed the distance between them and took Kurt's hand. Kurt shuffled back in the saddle to allow Blaine enough room to jump on. It was awkward and uncoordinated, but he was able to kick his foot into the stirrup and jump up onto the horses back in front of Kurt. He hoped the horse would be able to handle the extra weight, but it wasn't too long of a ride. Blaine wrapped his hands in the reins and Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine's waist as if it was nothing. Blaine's heart raced at the contact as he felt Kurt press up against his back. A shiver went through his entire body. Things had never felt so right than in this moment, with Kurt so close to him… He was _so_ hopeless. Blaine made a clicking sound with his tongue and gently nudged the horse in the ribs with his foot, urging it forward. The horse started off in a quickened walk, trotting down along the riverside and over a small stone bridge as they made their way into the countryside.

Blaine's mind was working quickly as he tried to calm his racing heart. It felt so good to have Kurt clutching him around his waist. He could feel Kurt's fingers against his clothed stomach. He'd never had that kind of contact with another person before, especially not with one that made him feel the things he felt right now. It was then that Blaine realized how strong his feelings actually were for the boy he barely knew. It overwhelmed him. He debated with himself about having these feelings about someone he didn't really even know all that well. He tried to force them away, tried to hide them for the time being but with Kurt so close to him, around him, it became an impossible task.

Within a short amount of time (Blaine immediately realized how much faster the journey was by horse, or maybe it was because he was panicked the entire ride), they were trotting up the path to Blaine's home. Kurt tied up his horse in the fenced backyard under the shade of a tree and followed Blaine inside. Blaine led him to his bedroom, swinging the door open to reveal a small but comfortable space. Kurt removed his hat and placed his riding gloves inside, setting the hat on Blaine's dresser table.

"I know it's not much…" Blaine trailed off. Kurt's eyes danced around the room. Blaine's bedroom was indeed small; Blaine imagined Kurt's bathroom was probably bigger. It had two windows on the outside wall that lit up the entire room with sunlight, with his bed parallel to the windowed wall. He had a dresser between the bed and wall and another dresser between the windows for his clothing. There was a small working desk under the right windows farthest from his bed where Blaine worked on his small projects. Every piece of furniture had been made by his father and was beautifully crafted. Mr. Anderson was well known in the city for his handy work; even the royals hired him to create exquisite custom pieces for them. In fact, Blaine knew that Kurt's parents had hired his father multiple times. Blaine guessed that Kurt had no idea of this fact.

"It's lovely, Blaine. Very quaint." Kurt smirked towards Blaine and Blaine felt heat rise on his cheeks. Kurt's shoes made soft clicking noises as he paced across the wooden floor towards Blaine. "Will you show me something?" He asked softly, clasping his hands together. He sounded as if he was afraid to ask even though they had ridden all the way here for just that purpose.

"Of course." Blaine said all at once, crossing to his dresser drawer and picking out his red ball and pocketing a deck of cards. He closed the drawer slowly and turned around, tossing the ball between his hands. He walked swiftly into the middle of his room and sat on the floor which was covered in a midsize round rug. The rug was made by his mother and Blaine often found himself working on his magic while sitting on it. He motioned with his left arm for Kurt to join him on the floor, and he did. He crossed one leg over the other and slowly crouched down onto the floor, looking slightly uncomfortable has he did so. Kurt's jacket flared awkwardly around his thighs; obviously not meant to be worn while sitting on the floor. Blaine smiled to himself at the awkwardness of it, but was too shy to offer to take Kurt's jacket for him. Was it proper to ask a duke to remove his jacket? Blaine didn't want to scare Kurt off or make a fool of himself any further than he already had and asking Kurt to undress didn't seem like a wise move.

"So, you've seen magic before obviously. Like I said, I'm kind of a beginner so you'll have to go easy on me. I've got a few tricks I can show you though." Kurt's smile grew considerably at the promise of a show. Blaine took the red ball into his right hand, palm up. Kurt watched his hand carefully. He closed his fist around the ball and brought his other hand to help conceal it. He held still to add to the dramatic effect. When he opened his hands, the ball had disappeared. Kurt looked at him expectantly but Blaine did nothing.

"Is that it?" Kurt asked, looking slightly disappointed. His eyes flickered from Blaine's hand to his face, "You just make it disappear? But you have to make it come back! It's not nearly as impressive if you can't make it reappear." He said with a pout. Blaine just smiled knowingly at him.

"Well maybe if you gave it back to me…" He gestured with his hand to Kurt's coat pocket. Kurt gave him a look of confusion, raising an eyebrow and cocking his head before reaching into his pocket and pulling out none other than Blaine's red ball. Kurt gasped, holding the ball in his hand. He looked to Blaine's face in shock.

"How did you do that? How did you get it into my pocket without me noticing? I surely would have felt if you put your hand there, and I was watching your hands the entire time!" Kurt was smiling broadly now, half laughing as he spoke, trying to make sense of the trick. Blaine simply raised his eyebrows smugly. He had impressed Kurt and it felt wonderful. Kurt looked so enthused; his eyes shimmered in the golden sunlight filtering through the bedroom window. Kurt was so beautiful when he was smiling like that. He smiled so broadly Blaine could see his beautiful teeth peeking out under his lips. _His lips…_ Suddenly Blaine realized he had let his mind wander and snapped himself back to the present.

"Well Duke Hummel, that's the whole point of the trick, isn't it? The mystery of it all?" He told Kurt, grinning devilishly. Kurt's smile faltered.

"You know, you don't have to call me that." Kurt huffed.

"What do you mean?" Blaine looked at him in slight confusion.

"You don't have to address me so formally. We must be around the same age, if not the same I would think. "

Blaine nodded. "What shall I call you then?"

"Well my name of course, Blaine. You may call me Kurt."

"You know my name?" Blaine softened at the thought. Kurt knew his name. He knew it! And Blaine didn't even tell him! Kurt laughed.

"Of course I do. Your father talks about you all the time when he visits to install new pieces." Blaine felt a flutter in his chest for what must have been the hundredth time that day. "He's says you're very skilled for being so young..." Kurt was blushing again; Blaine noticed the blush staining his cheeks pink. His heart leapt in his ribcage. Kurt was blushing; did that mean he felt the same way? Clearly Blaine was over-reacting; he was never very good at being realistic. But he hoped…

"Would you like to see another trick?" Blaine looked at him with hopeful eyes and Kurt nodded. Blaine plucked the deck of cards from his pocket. He flipped open the tab and pulled the cards into his palm.

"A card trick?" Kurt leaned forward to watch the cards pour into Blaine's hand.

"Yes. But not like you've seen before, I promise." Kurt looked at him with silent skepticism, cocking his eyebrow slowly and allowing a smirk to grow on his face. "Pick a card."

Blaine extended the cards to him; fanned out between his two hands, face down. Kurt plucked a card from the far left and pulled it towards his chest. His eyes flicked down to take note of the suit and number: the five of hearts. Blaine collected the cards again into a stack.

"Place the card back in the stack, anywhere you like." Kurt leaned forward to slide the card in the lower third of the deck. Blaine moved the stack between his two hands and shuffled them skillfully a few times. After he was finished, he placed the deck in his right hand and extended it to hover between the pair, back of the cards facing Kurt. Kurt looked at the deck as Blaine brought his left hand to sweep upwards slowly behind the deck without touching it. Kurt gasped as one of the cards began to shift upwards in the deck without being touched. It seemed to climb right out of Blaine's hands, wiggling upwards until it was floating freely above the deck as if held up by an invisible thread. The look of concentration on Blaine's face was intense, as if he was holding the card in the air with his mind.

Kurt stared with a gaping mouth, unable to comprehend the sight. Blaine was right; he had never seen a card trick like this. He reached out to the card tentatively. He brushed his fingertips against the back of the card before gripping it between his fingers and plucking it from the air. He brought the card towards himself and turned it towards his face hesitantly. To his amazement, he saw the five of hearts staring back at him. He looked to Blaine who was smiling, obviously pleased with himself.

"How…" Kurt trailed off, not really meaning to ask the question because he didn't really want to know. It nagged at him, his brain trying to come up with ways a card could possibly float in mid-air without anyone touching it.

"That was incredible, Blaine. I don't know how you did it." He let out a bemused laugh. Blaine's face coloured under the compliment. He certainly was not used to this positive attention but he really didn't mind; especially when it was coming from Kurt.

He took the card from Kurt's hand slowly, sucking in a sharp breath when their fingertips grazed each other's. Embarrassed, Blaine went to pull his hand away. Kurt looked at him with a shy smile and caught Blaine's wrist in his hand. Blaine could have died and went to heaven in that moment. He would have been fine with that. Kurt was touching him, holding him! The card was discarded on the middle of the floor in an instant.

He was about to speak when his bedroom door thrown open, scaring the pair out of their interaction immediately. The entire room vibrated as the back of the door slammed against his bedroom wall.

"Duke von Teschen!" A man yelled. This was not going to be good. Blaine felt fear ripple through his body. "You can't be here with this- this… peasant!" He said, thrusting his arm in Blaine's direction. The man hesitated before the last word and Blaine was silently grateful he'd chosen a word that was not nearly as offensive as what the other boys had used earlier. "Remember who you are!" The man grabbed Kurt's arm harshly, pulling him up from his seated position and practically dragging him out of the room.

"Kurt-" Blaine started to stand but there was a hand on his shoulder, a second man pushing him back to the ground.

"I'm sorry, Blaine…" He said softly, trying his best to fight back but failing miserably. The men were huge and overpowering; there was nothing that could be done. Blaine could have sworn the boys' eyes looked wet and the realization broke Blaine's heart. Blaine watched with eyes of sorrow as his new friend was taken away from him.

He rubbed his fingers over his wrist absently. He knew this was too good to be true. Even if Kurt wanted to be his friend, wanted to be more (God, he had hoped Kurt wanted to be more), Kurt's family wouldn't allow it. He felt the shame wash over him again as he listened from his spot on the round carpet. The front door slammed closed and the sound of horse hooves trailed off into the distance.


	2. Wish I Would See You Again

I'm so sorry for the delay in this second chapter. I never meant to take so long writing it. I was without my laptop for a few weeks, which meant almost no writing was done during that time. I want to try to update this at least once a week, so we'll see how that goes. Anyways, here is chapter 2!

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><p>It wasn't until Kurt was long gone that he realized it was missing. His red ball, the item he used the most to practice his magic with, was missing. Blaine sighed deeply; Kurt must have slipped it back in his pocket after the trick and taken it with him when he was stolen away by the men. Blaine had assumed they were castle guards; hulking and cold bodies sent out on a mission to return Kurt to the castle. A part of him was kind of glad that Kurt would have a piece of himself that Kurt could remember him by. Kurt would be able to reach into his pocket later when he was home and remember the few hours they had spent together.<p>

Blaine flopped back onto his bed. He felt like he wanted to cry. He could feel the pressure behind his eyes. He could still feel the harsh grip of hands on his shoulders that kept him pinned to the ground when all he wanted to do was to rescue Kurt from the guards. He was filled with volumes of self-loathing. He hated himself for not being better. He hated himself for not being someone Kurt was allowed to be around. And worse, he felt guilty for getting Kurt into trouble. After all it had been his idea to go back to Blaine's home. He should have known better. He should have just said no to Kurt and walked away back in the village. It would have been so much easier.

_No it wouldn't,_ his mind told him. He cursed himself internally at the realization.

He felt a deep sense of loss as he heaved a second sigh that probably sounded more like a broken gasp for air. It was full of chocked back tears and sorrow. Even though they had only known each other personally for a few hours, it felt like so much longer. The moment Kurt had taken Blaine's wrist in his hand he could have sworn time had stopped. _How cliché, _Blaine thought to himself, rolling on to his side and kicking his legs up onto the bed. He couldn't bring himself to care at how silly it sounded.

He was lost in thought, running over scenarios of the situation in his mind over and over again since Kurt left. What did it all mean? Blaine knew that he had feelings for Kurt, obviously. He'd known for a long time back before he found out Kurt knew of his existence. He had admired him from afar for months if not years, imagining the day when he'd get to hear his voice, to be around him, to talk to him. Now that day had come and gone. It was over. Blaine guessed Kurt's parents would forbid them from seeing each other. In fact, he was sure of it. If Kurt were seen gallivanting with a peasant it would do horrible things to the families reputation.

Blaine was grateful that his parents were none the wiser to the entire situation. He could hear the mill in his father's shop buzzing away and Blaine guessed his mother had taken a trip to the market because she wasn't around. It wasn't out of the ordinary that she wasn't home but Blaine was still thankful for it. If the men had seen Blaine's parents, Lord only knows the things they would have said or done. Blaine loved his parents dearly and most certainly did not want them to be saddled with any punishment that may have come from the interaction. Blaine was not stupid, he knew that the guards could easily have taken him into custody and blamed him for kidnapping the boy duke. He was lucky, but he certainly didn't feel that way.

He hated his heart for feeling this way, for becoming this attached so quickly. Why did he have to fall for someone so unobtainable? Why couldn't he fall for a girl next door like his father, settle down on a farm somewhere like _normal_ people? He had never been attracted to girls; he knew he was gay from a very young age. He never came out to his parents or to anyone really. Most of his time was spent alone or with his family. He had no one that really needed to know. He had acquaintances; there was Wes who ran a booth at the market where he sold his families eggs and Jeff who was the son of a blacksmith. And of course there was Nick, whose family supplied the Anderson's with most of their lumber and other hardware that they needed to keep the family business running. The thing is, the boys were just like him and were required to spend long hours working for their families in order to keep the family afloat. Blaine didn't have the privileged of friendship. Maybe that's why he took such a shining to Kurt. Kurt _could_ have been his friend.

Blaine finally let the hot silent tears fall from his closed eyes. He didn't even bother to wipe them away. It was hopeless.

vvvvv

Three days passed in agonizing length. Blaine had gone into the main village every single day after working with his father and every day yielded no sighting of Kurt. He didn't know what to expect, but he had hoped. God, he had hoped. Of course his three hecklers were always there to remind him of how little his life mattered, how insignificant and worthless and pathetic he was. They must have found out about his feelings for Kurt because the teasing became even more relentless. He tried his best to ignore them, but their words lashed him and left invisible but painful burns in his skin. But he told himself the pain would be worth it if he could see Kurt again. Every day ended in a verbal lashing from the boys and no sighting of Kurt. He was even so desperate that he contemplated asking the boys where Kurt was on multiple occasions but he could almost hear their pitiful, condescending laughter just thinking about it. He wouldn't, he couldn't ask for their help.

Blaine's mother had taken notice of his change in attitude almost immediately. He shrugged her off, feigning illness. Luckily for him, that seemed to satisfy her curiosity. She still kept a close eye on him at home and forced him to eat more at dinnertime even though eating was the last thing Blaine wanted to be doing. He had completely lost his appetite over the past few days. Blaine's father on the other hand was indifferent to Blaine's change of attitude and still expected him to be in the shop when he was scheduled to be. Blaine's relationship with his father was always a bit strained; he had always been much closer with his mother. His father had always kept to himself for the most part, it wasn't just towards Blaine so he didn't take it personally. Blaine could see his mother eyeing him from across the table as he brought a spoonful of peas to his mouth. A few more spoonful's and he asked to be excused from the table. He could hear his mother sigh and nod. He was soon in his room, crawling into his covers and trying to block out the world. He failed miserably.

On the fourth morning he lay curled up in his bed, knees tucked up snuggly against his chest. His blanket was thrown haphazardly over his body and his feet poked out from the bottom as it bunched around his stomach. He didn't even make a move to fix it. He hated feeling like this. How could one boy have such power over him? For the first time in Blaine's life, he didn't want to go to work. The very thought of it scared him, he'd always had his future mapped out for him and now, for the first time, he hated the idea of working like this for the rest of his life.

He climbed off his bed; wiping the sleep from his eyes, bare feet shuffling on the cold wooden floor. He pulled an outfit from his burrow and leisurely got dressed, making himself presentable for the day ahead of him. He was awake much earlier than he needed to be but he couldn't sleep. He had rolled around in his sheets for hours and still sleep evaded him, so he eventually gave up. There was no sunlight trickling through his window but he could hear the birds starting to sing songs in the distance. He still had a few hours before his father would be awake and expecting Blaine to be in the shop with him.

He brushed his curls back and gazed into the mirror on his bedroom wall. His hair was particularly unruly today. Blaine smiled weakly thinking about how the condition of his hair reflected his inner turmoil. _How poetic._ It was then that he heard a couple taps on his bedroom window. He turned around on his heels, expecting to see nothing there. Instead, all of the air seemed to evaporate from his lungs when he saw Kurt up against the window grinning, waving his gloved hand frantically. Blaine ran to the window and pulled it open.

"Kurt!" He blurted out, the biggest smile growing across his face.

"Blaine." Kurt breathed with a smile in return. "I hope I didn't want you up!"

"What- what are you doing here? You're going to get yourself into so much trouble." Blaine was shaking his head slowly as he spoke just thinking about it.

"No one will notice I'm gone this early in the morning. Besides, I had to return this." He pulled off his glove and shoved it in his pocket, then pulled his hand out again to reveal a red ball in his palm. "I'm so sorry. I had forgotten I put it in there before I was… dragged off. I didn't mean to steal it." Kurt looked racked with guilt and Blaine felt a pain in his chest. He wondered if Kurt had worried about it all this time, thinking that Blaine would be mad at him for taking the ball. Blaine put his hand over the ball, grasping it under his fingers and feeling Kurt's skin brush against his.

"It's okay Kurt, honestly. I know you didn't mean to take it on purpose. Thank you for bringing it back to me though. It's very special to me." Blaine felt a twinge of fear, wondering if Kurt had only come to see him to return the ball and that was it. An uneasy silence fell between them until Kurt cleared his throat and spoke again.

"I don't want to get you into any more trouble Blaine, but would you like to come out with me for awhile? We could go for a walk perhaps? I don't know..." He laughed nervously as blush spread across his pale face.

"Yes!" Blaine said in response, probably sounding a little over eager. "Just- just give me a moment. I'll be right out." They smiled to each other and Blaine closed his window slowly, trying to keep the wood of the frame from slamming too loudly. He tossed the ball into the dresser next to his bed, not bothering to close the drawer, and tiptoed through the house. He pulled on a pair of socks and toed his shoes, slipping them on before exiting out the side door as to not disturb his sleeping parents.

He jogged around to the back of the house to see Kurt standing outside his window. He looked immaculate as usual; Blaine couldn't help but feel underdressed in his presence. He was wearing his typical white collared shirt with a few of the buttons undone (that admittedly did not fit very attractively because his parents had bought it large so he could grow into it), a black vest and brown trousers. Kurt was wearing a tan button down jacket in a similar style to his green outfit from days earlier, but the buttons were left open this time, exposing a white collar shirt buttoned with a black bow tie around his neck and black slacks to match.

He stopped his jog a few steps back from the boy in front of him and grinned again. He couldn't stop the goofy grin that was most undoubtedly spreading across his face. He could feel the skin around the corners of his mouth crinkling as his smile grew. Kurt seemed to return the sentiment, though his smile was much more dignified. Blaine just couldn't help himself. Kurt seemed to reduce him to a fumbling child without even trying. Blaine wished he could be formal and proper for Kurt, he really did.

"Shall we?" Kurt asked and Blaine nodded in accordance. He followed Kurt around the back of the fence and out into the woods behind Blaine's house. The two of them walked side-by-side through the trees. There was no real path or trail, so they picked their way amongst the roots and fallen branches. Sparse light from the open sky pooled in from the treetops, dotting the leaf-covered forest floor. Blaine loved this forest; he enjoyed walking around out here on his own while he reflected on the thoughts in his mind. Now he loved it even more due to the fact that Kurt was next to him. They walked in comfortable silence for a while before Blaine trusted himself to speak.

"Did you get in much trouble for spending time with me?" He did want to know the answer though he was afraid of what that might be. Kurt sighed, not looking up from the ground. He kicked some fallen, wilted leaves with his foot.

"Yes, but it was to be expected. I knew I would be in trouble the moment I left the village. I was supposed to stay with my cousins and come straight home, so when I didn't arrive with them they told my parents that I had followed you." Blaine cringed, his hatred for the boys growing tenfold. "It wasn't your fault, so please don't feel that way. I did what I did, and it was worth the three days of isolation that I faced at the castle. I would do it again." At the last sentence, he turned to look Blaine in the eyes and smiled. There it was again, his stomach was swooping and doing nervous flips because of Kurt. Blaine started to think Kurt could literally do or say anything and he'd still feel that way.

"My family, they don't really understand. They don't understand _me_ that's for certain. They want to dictate my entire life for me and I would much rather be out here, doing this. I do like living in the castle, don't get me wrong. I like being around my family in the capacity that I am but at the same time, it can be so stifling. I never have a moment to myself. Sometimes it's hard to feel like a real person when they tell me what to wear, what to think, what to do all the time." Kurt paused for a moment, flicking his eyes over at Blaine. "I'm sorry; I don't know where all of this came from." Kurt wrung his hands together, sounding flustered as he finished talking. He clearly was not used to having someone to tell these things to. Blaine stopped them for a moment and placed a hand on Kurt's shoulder.

"It's okay Kurt. Honestly. I don't mind listening." He gave Kurt's shoulder a gentle squeeze and smiled, trying to convince Kurt to smile as well. He did.

"Thank you Blaine, you're very sweet." He brought his own hand up and let it rest on Blaine's for a few seconds before sliding it off his shoulder and continuing to walk.

"It's just frustrating that they don't have the capacity to see people for who they really are. They are so focused on image and maintaining their social standing that they box themselves in to such a small group of people. Most of which are just awful, you know my cousins." Blaine huffed a short laugh. "They limit their experiences. I just want to see the world, the places I've only read about in books or heard about from relatives. I don't want to spend my entire life in that castle and then be wedded off to someone because of my status in royalty." Blaine could sense the anger building up inside Kurt. He suddenly realized that maybe Kurt didn't have things as easy as he first thought.

"One day, you'll have all those things you want, Kurt. I know you will." Blaine told him, unsure of what to say to make the situation better and less heated. Blaine wanted to add more, but he stopped himself. Kurt smiled to himself, silently hoping that Blaine was right. Blaine didn't let himself think about Kurt talking about himself being married off to someone.

They continued to walk and chatter back and forth idly until they came to the Wien River, the same river that ran along the edge of the main village. They perched themselves next to each other on some large boulders near the shore. The sun was still fairly low on the horizon but would soon have the entire city in a golden glow. They sat together admiring the quiet atmosphere.

"I can't believe I'm here right now." Blaine said idly, mostly to himself. He hadn't realized he said it out loud until he noticed Kurt was looking at his curiously.

"You mean you've never been here before?" Kurt was looking at him confusion. Surely Blaine had been to this spot before. It was so close to his home after all.

"No I- er." Blaine was frantically searching for words. "I just mean, here with you." Kurt was looking at him still but now his eyebrow was slowly rising.

_I can't believe I'm here __**with you**__ right now._

"I, uh, I didn't think I'd get to see you again, not after you were dragged away and all." Blaine chickened out _again_ from what he really wanted to say to Kurt. He was sure he sounded like a complete idiot, tripping over his words and his use of informal language wasn't helping.

"I know what you mean." Kurt sighed. "I know we've only recently met, but you're the closest thing I have to a real friend, you know. Someone I feel like I can tell everything and anything to. You're not like the others, you're different."

"I'm a peasant." Blaine laughed at himself, trying to hide the pain of realizing how different he really was from Kurt. He tried not to visibly cringe at his own self-deprecating humour.

"That's not what I meant, Blaine." There was a hint of disappointment in his voice. "I don't care that you're a peasant, why would you think that matters to me? I certainly hope I haven't said or done anything to make you think that." Blaine shook his head quickly. Kurt had been nothing but kind to him. "You're different because you let me be myself. You don't push me around or try to get things from me because of who I am. You treat me like a normal person: an _actual_ person." Kurt was looking out over the water, folding and unfolding his hands in his lap again restlessly before bracing them on boulder on either side of his thighs.

"That's what I like about you, too."_ Among other things._ "Despite who I am and what I lack, you treat me like I'm not any different from you. I've never had that before." They smiled at each other then. The smiles were so genuine, Blaine wondered if Kurt had ever smiled like that around anyone else in his life. He wondered if it was reserved only for moments like this when he could be himself and expose his true feelings and thoughts. The two of them sat quietly together, listening to the flow of the river tumble downstream.

The peacefulness of it all was so beautiful. The river was untouched by man here, being so far from the main village. The main village had begun talks of covering the entire riverbed in concrete in order to control the devastating floods in the area. Blaine both understood and hated the idea. He knew it would be safer for the city but as he looked out over the water, he hated that the beauty of nature would be completely destroyed. Here, the area was barely traveled by people. Blaine only knew of it because it was so close to where he lived. He watched as birds danced in flight, performing circles around each other in a flirtatious courtship dance before fluttering off into the trees. Reeds and cattails flourished along the far side of the river, swaying gently in the breeze. Blaine watched a red-winged blackbird perch itself on a cattail and chirp out a beautiful tune. He listened to the wind rustle through the trees and felt it as it swept over his skin. Kurt had closed his eyes and taken a deep breath, taking in the sweet breeze. Blaine swore he even saw a fish jump out of the water, only catching the flash of silver and the droplets of water that followed. Everything was wonderful and beautiful, but Blaine was mildly distracted.

His mind was working to build up the courage to ask Kurt a question. A question that he really wanted to know that answer to. A question to which he hoped the answer would be 'yes'. It was possible that he had never been more nervous in his life just thinking about it. He had no idea how Kurt felt about him, if he felt anything at all. He didn't know if the feelings he felt for Kurt were mutual or fabricated in his imagination. He wasn't even sure if Kurt was gay, like him. There was a great chance he has grossly overestimated the fallout of asking said question. What if the answer was no? Could he deal with that kind of rejection? The overwhelming sense of fear was almost overpowering and he felt slightly ill. He breathed a shaky breath and cleared his throat. Kurt looked at him expectantly. He had to say something now. He was going to do it.

"Kurt-" Blaine squeaked. "Would it be completely unorthodox if…" He paused to swallow heavily. His mouth was suddenly much too dry. "…I asked to hold your hand?"

Blaine looked at Kurt with wide, vulnerable eyes. Their confessions about being accepting of each other were so fresh and Blaine was so terrified of what Kurt's reaction would be. Kurt did grasp at his wrist, rest his hand on his, blushed around him, but that wasn't really evidence of serious, purposeful affection. Kurt did say that they were friends. But other than that… For a moment, he wished he could take back the words. Realistically speaking he was probably being much too forward. They had only met with each other twice and one of those instances had resulted in them being forbidden to see each other. Blaine swallowed again audibly, briefly considering if he knew any magic trick yet that could be used to go back in time. Of course, he did not.

"I would like that very much." Kurt was looking at him with such compassion, Blaine didn't understand. Blaine stared for at his face for a moment, making sure that the words he heard come from Kurt's mouth were real and he wasn't just dreaming. He slowly raised his left hand from his lap and covered Kurt's right, sliding his fingers underneath and curling their hands together. Kurt gently wiggled his fingers through Blaine's, intertwining them. He felt his breath catch in his throat. Kurt was returning his affection and he had never been more ecstatic in his entire life. He stared down at their joined hands; unable to fully comprehend that this was all real. Kurt's hand felt incredible in his.

"I've been waiting to do this for so long." Kurt admitted, smiling to himself.

"Wha- what?" Blaine questioned, snapping his head up, eyebrows flying to his hairline. Kurt chuckled at the face he was making.

"You heard me. I said I've wanted to do this for a long time." Kurt brushed his shoulder up against Blaine playfully, taunting the confused boy. "Never did I think you would be interested in some snotty castle boy. I was so painfully shy around you for so long; I thought I'd never work up the courage to talk to you." Blaine was dumb-founded. Kurt had been interested in him, and not just since they met a few days ago. He'd been interested in Blaine for a while. _For a long time. _The idea of it was mind-boggling.

"I never thought you'd be interested in a cabinetmaking peasant boy." Blaine said truthfully. He had spent many a day thinking about the angelic boy riding his horse around town. He'd dreamt of encounters they could have had if Blaine had only worked up the courage to talk to him: the kind of courage that only came to him while he was asleep in a dream world where duke and peasant could be friends. Could be _more_ than friends. A dream world that he never in a million years imagined could actually exist. Kurt slid closer to him and leaned against his shoulder, his head falling against Blaine.

"Well, I am." Kurt said simply, nuzzling his way into Blaine's neck. His tone was so affectionate. How could Kurt just say things like that? How could he say things that made Blaine's heart race in his chest, that made him feel like there was too much blood in his veins and not enough air in his lungs? How could he just say things so simply that Blaine barely had the courage to think about? He hadn't realized how brave Kurt really was until just then.

Blaine felt entirely whole, like a missing piece of himself had returned to him, a piece that he didn't realize was missing in the first place. He wasn't sure what all of it meant. He wasn't sure what the admissions or the handholding really added up to, but it felt promising. It felt optimistic and breath taking and all of the most cliché words and feelings Blaine could possibly think of. It felt right. It felt perfect. It was wonderful. Blaine slowly leaned his head towards Kurt and rested his cheek on top of Kurt's head. He closed his eyes slowly; taking a deep breath and letting the situation wash over him. There was a moment of silence before Kurt spoke.

"You think too much, Blaine." He said matter-of-factly. Blaine couldn't help but chuckle at himself. How did Kurt know him so well already? "Just sit with me for awhile, please?" He could feel Kurt's voice thrumming through his skin. It was hypnotizing.

"Of course." Blaine slid their clutched hand onto his thigh and rubbed small circles with his thumb over Kurt's hand affectionately. They sat silently together for awhile. Blaine listened to Kurt's breath and the birds and the water and just let himself live in the moment.

vvvvv

"My dad is going to expect me to be in the shop soon, if they haven't already noticed I'm not there." He told Kurt with a sigh. He wished he could sit with their hands intertwined forever. Maybe he should tell Kurt that. Kurt seemed to just speak whatever came to his mind when it came to this sort of thing. _Courage_, he told himself.

"I kind of wish we could stay like this forever." Blaine whispered, finally not holding back on what he really wanted to tell Kurt. The sky wasn't falling and Kurt wasn't running away which was definitely a good sign. Still, he felt uneasy. Kurt murmured against Blaine's shoulder and Blaine hated that he had to make them move from their comfortable position.

"Maybe one day we'll be able to." Kurt told him, vaguely reminiscent of their first conversation. Kurt didn't make to get up. If anything he was trying to snuggle in closer against Blaine's side. Blaine wanted to let him do it, he really did. But there were still questions to be answered.

"Kurt," Blaine was moving away now to look at his face. "What does this mean?"

"It means whatever you want it to mean, Blaine." How could he say things so simply when the situation was so complicated?

"You know we can't be together. But I want to be. Really badly, actually."

"Then let's be together." Kurt told him, as if his one little sentence could fix everything.

"It's not that easy, you know that." Kurt was rolling his eyes and shuffling to stand on his feet.

"I've never really done anything against the rules before. I've never really felt the need to. Until you, of course." Blaine smiled weakly, trying to remember how Kurt said that it wasn't his fault that Kurt had gotten into trouble, but still he felt guilty. "Blaine, I want to be with you in whatever capacity you'll have me. If that means we'll be friends, more than friends, or we'll part ways after today…"

"You know I waited for you." Blaine interrupted Kurt as he was speaking. Kurt was looking at him with a confused expression but let Blaine continue. "In town, I waited for you every day. Every day that you were locked away I came looking for you."

"Blaine, I didn't know-"

"It's not your fault, Kurt. I know that. I just, I want to be with you. I'm just so damn scared of everything. I barely know how to act around you without completely embarrassing myself. It's just, these feelings, you know? Even now when I'm looking at you my heart is racing like it's never done before around anyone else. I can't really figure out what to say, I'm usually much more eloquent. All I know is that it's never going to be simple. Even if we're careful, even if we hide this and try not to get caught, it could happen."

"Why can't we just let things happen as they will?" Kurt was looking at him desperately, hands clutching around his chest. "I know it's not a perfect solution, but we can make it work." Kurt walked towards him and took Blaine's hands in his. "Just give it a chance." His eyes were so big and full of emotion. They were pleading with him even though Kurt wasn't speaking.

"I really, really care about you. I don't want to screw this up." He looked at Kurt; his intense hazel eyes burrowing into Kurt, making him believe every word.

"You worry too much." Kurt smiled as he repeated himself. Maybe Kurt was right. But they'd have to be careful, so careful about everything. They certainly couldn't be seen together and keeping Kurt's family in the dark about their secret meetings would be difficult. Obviously the cousins would have to be dealt with somehow, though Blaine had no idea how to go about that.

Kurt clutched Blaine's hands in his a little tighter. The sun was framed perfectly around the back of his head and he lit up like an angel.

"I have to worry enough for the both of us, clearly." Blaine said playfully and Kurt giggled. He loved that laugh. Then was Kurt pressing into Blaine, wrapping his arms around his waist and pulling him into a hug. Blaine raised his arms and wrapped his hands around Kurt's neck. He held him in place, breathing him in and enjoying how their cheeks pressed together gently. After a brief moment they pulled back slightly, arms still holding each other in an embrace. Blaine pressed his fingers softly into the back of Kurt's neck, feeling the soft hair under his finger tips. Kurt was smiling and gazing into his eyes.

"We'll make this work." Kurt told him and Blaine couldn't help but believe him.

vvvvv

The sun was moving higher in the sky as they exited the forest. Blaine had nervously made another move to hold Kurt's hand as they were walking out of the forest and was relieved when Kurt let him take his hand. Kurt was grateful for Blaine's bravery. He loved the feelings of Blaine's hand felt in his. Blaine's hands felt confident and warm in a way he never knew he wanted. Never knew he needed.

Their goodbye was wordless. Kurt let his hand slip from Blaine's, dragging his fingertips across Blaine's palm softly as their hands slowly fell apart. Blaine hated the immediate emptiness he felt. It shocked him how quickly being with Kurt had turned into the 'norm' for him. Kurt waved to Blaine and Blaine watched him leave before swiftly ducking into his fathers shop. The idea of going to work right now was not exactly thrilling. He knew his father wouldn't be impressed with his tardiness but at the same time he couldn't bring himself to care.

"You're late." His father spoke gruffly, not looking up from whatever he was doing. It looked like he was working on constructing a drawer for a burrow.

"I'm sorry, dad." Blaine muttered, quickly making his way around the shop to his work area. His father grunted, to which Blaine hoped was his father accepting the apology. Blaine shuffled some sketches around on his desk idly. He was never late to work, not when the shop was literally only 20 paces from their house. Plus, he had been doing this all his life so he knew what was expected of him.

Surely his father was suspicious, but Blaine had his thoughts on anything but work.

This boy was going to get him into trouble.

* * *

><p>Thank you for the reviews on the first chapter! Reviews are very, very appreciated!<p> 


	3. The Locket

This chapter is NC-17 due to sexual situations. You can skip that section of this chapter if you're not a fan of smut.

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><p>Over the next several months, they could always find ways to be together. Miraculously, they had managed to keep both of their families in the dark. It was just easier that way.<p>

It was mid-afternoon one day in spring, about 7 months since their first meeting. Blaine led Kurt to a secret shack deep in the forest that he often visited. His father and him had built it as sort of a playhouse for him as a child, but he still used it to this day. It wasn't much; in fact it was pretty hideous looking. Years of weather had degraded the exterior. Weeds and plants now grew up the walls and weaved up over the roof. The inside however was clean and kept. It was made completely of wood with a wooden floor. There was a bookshelf along the right wall with an unlit candle sitting in a ceramic dish. There was a wooden chair on the opposite side of the room and even a bed, which fit snuggly along the back wall. Blaine had never slept there, but he did enjoy resting with a book, listening to the sounds of nature all around him as he did so. He had also brought his lute with him more often than not.

It was a safe house. He had decorated the walls with some of his sketches of miscellaneous things he had built over the years. The most recent addition was a large painting of a Chinese-style building that he had discovered in town. The owner of the painting offered to trade Blaine the painting for some errands that needed to be done and Blaine had obliged.

He led Kurt inside, holding open the small slanted door for him and following in after. They sat together on the wooden floorboards, linking their hands together between them.

"In China," Blaine began. "There is this magician that can make anything disappear: animals, people, an entire house. Anything!" He told Kurt excitedly. Blaine had been doing some research of his own on the subject of magic study. He decided he wanted to become an apprentice, to travel the world and develop his magic further. While he had become quite good in the several months of practice on his own, he was nothing compared to the famous magicians he read about. He wanted to become _great_.

"You and I, we'll go visit him." Kurt said, looking up at him and smiling brightly. "You promise you'll take me with you?"

Blaine recalled a conversation during their second outing together when Kurt told him that he wanted to travel the world, to get out of the castle and escape. He told Kurt that it would happen and had secretly wanted to tell him that he hoped he would be the one to make it happen. He felt something strange in his in chest, like somehow he wouldn't be able to make that happen, that he would disappoint Kurt before they got the chance. He pushed the sensation away and there was a moment of silence between them before Blaine spoke again.

"One day, I will." He looked at Kurt, giving him a reassuring smile and squeezed his hands.

"One day we'll run away together. We'll disappear." Kurt whispered to him. The golden light of the sun crept through the cracks of the wooden door and fell across his face. His eyes actually sparkled as they reflected the little light present. He looked so beautiful. Kurt leaned forward, pressing his impossibly soft lips to Blaine's cheek. Kurt spoke again, soft and airy against Blaine's face. "They can't stop us if we want to be together." Blaine let out a shaky breath. He still wasn't used to hearing things like that. _Be together._ Sometimes he had to reassure himself that Kurt was really there with him, that Kurt wanted to be with him just as much as he wanted to be with Kurt. He wasn't sure if he would ever come to terms with that fact.

He reached out for Kurt's face, cupping his jaw and bringing their faces together again. He looked into Kurt's eyes, silently asking for permission. Their relationship was open emotionally and mentally, but physically they had not moved past quick kisses and fleeting touches. Both of them were terrified of their feelings for each other, not quite sure what to do around the other, too scared to take chances and cross boundaries. Blaine felt his throat constrict and his left hand become clammy. Kurt looked back at him and nodded slightly. Blaine swallowed down his fear and pressed his lips gently against Kurt's. His eyes fell closed, moving his lips slowly against Kurt's. Their noses brushed together and he could feel Kurt clutching at his left forearm like a lifeline as he returned the kiss. It was innocent and chaste, and not at all enough. They split apart on mutual terms, breath coming out a little more heavy than it was a few moments ago.

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, Kurt hovering in front of him silently on his knees, looking as if he was in thought. He was smiling shyly before he moved in, placing his right hand gently against Blaine's chest and pushing him backwards onto the floor. His left hand came around the back of Blaine's neck to support his head when he felt his back brush the floor. Kurt crawled over his body on all fours and all Blaine could manage was to stare at him. Soon Kurt's lips were back on his for a second time, much different than any kiss between them before. He could feel Kurt's fingers toying with the curls on the nape of his neck and he tried desperately to breathe normally through his nose, which was admittedly more difficult due to his racing heart. He brought up his right arm to caress Kurt's back, running his fingers down his spine and pushing him in closer.

Kurt leaned down to him, bracing himself on his forearms and elbows. Their chests connected as the heat of the kiss increased. Blaine moved his unoccupied hand to cup the back of Kurt's head, sliding his fingers into his soft hair, lips moving heatedly against lips. This was unlike anything Blaine had ever experienced. Everything he never knew he wanted, never knew he needed.

Kurt made a move to straddle Blaine, craning down to kiss at his jaw. It felt incredible and Blaine was making happy little moans in the back of his throat. Kurt must have appreciated the noises because he leaned in closer and their hips connected and, oh. _Oh_. That was _Kurt_ that just brushed up against him. Blaine moaned audibly, arching up under him to seek more contact but Kurt was off his lap in a second, pushing himself back with his hands onto the floor. He crossed his legs quickly to hide his tented trousers.

"Kurt?"

"I'm so sorry, Blaine…" His face was completely flushed in embarrassment mixed in part with arousal. He couldn't even bring his eyes up to look at Blaine right now. He made a painful chocked noise from behind his hands, too mortified to show his face.

"Kurt, it's fine." Blaine told him, trying not to chuckle at his embarrassed boyfriend. He moved towards him to try and pull Kurt's hands from his face. Blaine was smiling at him as one of Kurt's eyes peeked out from behind his fingers. "It's okay, honestly. I… liked it."

It would be unrealistic to say that Blaine hadn't thought about this kind of thing before, especially with Kurt. Because he did. More often than he would admit to. And now it seemed like he was not alone in that department. The thing was, he had no idea what he was doing. There was no instructions on how to do _this_ and he certainly wasn't going to go ask someone on what to do and how to do it. However if there was one thing Blaine did know, it was that _that_ felt very, very good.

Blaine shifted his body until he was sitting next to Kurt on Kurt's right, stroking his hand down Kurt's tense bicep. He moved in closer to kiss at Kurt's clothed shoulder gently and Kurt sighed under the attention. He mouthed at the fabric gently. Kurt's hands came down from his face and he looked over at Blaine, who in turn looked up to smile affectionately at him. Kurt's face was a flushed pink now rather than the vibrant red it had been a few minutes ago.

"Kurt, can I…" Blaine felt the sentence catch in his throat but he continued. "If it's okay with you, you don't have to say yes or anything if you're uncomfortable. But… can I touch you?" Kurt looked at him timidly. He glanced at Blaine's hazel eyes and made their way to his lips before settling on his eyes again. There was the tiniest of nods and Blaine could see Kurt swallow thickly. Blaine's left hand slid down over Kurt's bicep and trailed down to his thigh, rubbing softly down to his knee and then making its' way back up to his stomach. He slowly began to untuck Kurt's shirt from his pants, pulling it up to reveal soft skin. Kurt let out a shaky sigh, obviously enjoying the attention as Blaine stroked at his stomach but too tense to really let himself be consumed by it.

"Is this okay?"

"Yes… Kiss me, please." He spoke in a whisper, moving in close to Blaine and Blaine complied, pressing their lips together. He shifted his hand from the waistband of Kurt's pants and focused on rubbing Kurt's inner thigh through the kiss, waiting for Kurt to become comfortable. When Kurt pulled apart to take in a breath, Blaine's hand made its way down to graze his knuckles over Kurt's clothed cock. Kurt moaned softly, nuzzling into Blaine neck. He could feel Kurt's hot breath against his skin, causing his hairs to stand on end. Blaine traced his thumb along the hard line, able to feel its' outline through the fabric. It was overwhelming, being able to touch another person this way: to touch Kurt this way. Everything was so new and intimidating. He was certainly enjoying the little noises Kurt made against his neck.

Blaine grazed his way down to the head, feeling it twitch under his touch. It felt slightly damp under his fingertips and Blaine groaned, becoming aware of what his touches were doing to Kurt. He could feel the strain in his own pants increase just thinking about it. Kurt let out a breathy moan as Blaine cupped him, pressing down with the heel of his hand. Kurt rocked up slightly into the pressure, letting himself be lost to Blaine's touch.

Blaine made a move to unbutton Kurt's pants and then Kurt's hand was on Blaine crotch, completely distracting him from the task at hand.

"Nnngh, Kurt. Feels so good." He muttered, his face falling onto Kurt's shoulder as Kurt stroked him over his pants. "Maybe we should move this…" Blaine motioned to the bed.

"Yes, good idea." Kurt said weakly, bracing himself against the wall as he stood up from the floor. Blaine's lips were on Kurt's again as soon as he was standing. He held Kurt's face in both hands, sliding his tongue along Kurt's lips until Kurt opened and let his tongue snake inside. It was better then he ever imagined. He'd never thought feeling someone else's tongue up against his would feel so good. Kurt moaned, threading his hand up into Blaine's curls and tugging gently. Before Kurt even realized they were moving, he felt the frame of the bed brush up against the back of his calves.

Blaine broke the kiss, looking into Kurt's eyes as he moved his hands to the buttons of Kurt's shirt, starting at his neck. Blaine leaned forward to kiss at the exposed skin as it was revealed, his fingers worked downwards. Kurt moaned again, loving the way Blaine's lips felt on his collarbone, on his chest, and finally his stomach. When the shirt was open, Blaine stood to push it off Kurt's shoulder and folded it neatly, placing it on the empty bookshelf. Kurt stepped forward to undo Blaine's shirt. Blaine shrugged the vest he was wearing off and Kurt worked open the buttons, gently mouthing at Blaine's neck. His eyes rolled back in his head as Kurt kissed up under his jaw and under his ear. Soon the shirt was off and placed aside. Blaine admired the shirtless boy in front of him while Kurt was obviously doing the same.

"You're so beautiful, Kurt." Kurt smiled shyly, looking uncomfortable at being exposed and Blaine hated that look. Blaine wanted to convince him, kiss all his insecurities away. "You really are."

Shoes were discarded and socks soon after, leaving the boys clad only in their pants and underwear. Blaine wasn't sure how far this was going to go, but he moved forward towards Kurt again and kissed up his collarbone to his throat, setting to work on unbuckling Kurt's belt and removing it from the belt loops. Kurt didn't protest, but he gasped sharply at the sound of his zipper being tugged down.

"This okay?" Blaine questioned, and Kurt nodded reassuringly. Blaine tugged Kurt's pants down his legs until they were pooled around his ankles. Kurt bent over to collect them and place them with is shirt. Kurt returned the favour, kissing down his chest until he worked open the zipper and Blaine's pants were thrown with the rest of the clothing.

Both of them were still aroused from earlier, but now with so much skin exposed the lust seemed to grow tenfold. Blaine stepped towards Kurt, placing his hands on Kurt's chest and easing him back onto the bed. Blaine didn't waste time resuming what was started earlier, rolling his hips down and upwards against Kurt. It was Kurt's turn for his eyes to roll back in his head, head falling back against the single pillow on the small bed. Kurt arched up towards him on the next roll of Blaine's hips and he moaned, his face resting against Kurt's shoulder.

"It feels so good, Blaine." Kurt was barely audible when he spoke, his voice a slightly hoarse as it passed over his lips. Kurt stroked both hands down Blaine's back, down his lower back and back to his shoulders. They rutted against each other, silent except for the uncontrollable gasps of pleasure that escaped.

"Blaine," Kurt leaned to press his lips to Blaine's ear. "Can we, can we try something?"

"Yes, always yes Kurt." It wasn't until Blaine said it what he realized what he actually said. And just how desperate he probably sounded while he said it. Kurt just laughed at him, easing the tension of the situation extensively. Blaine backed off, sitting back on his knees as Kurt moved up off the bed and extending a hand to Blaine for him to do the same. Kurt slid his arms around Blaine's waist, playing with the hem of Blaine's underwear before slowly sliding them down slowly, watching Blaine's face for a signal to stop.

Blaine found the whole undressing each other incredibly romantic. He couldn't help himself. He pressed a few soft kisses to Kurt's shoulder before Kurt was out of reach, sliding the garment down Blaine's legs to his ankles. Kurt was too shy to let himself look just yet, even though he was pretty much at eye level with Blaine's dick. Blaine began to help Kurt out of his underwear as well, tossing both pairs to clothes pile. Blaine was not so shy, looking down at the now completely naked Kurt and taking in the sight of his cock, long and thick and flushed, jutting up towards his stomach. Spurred on by Blaine, Kurt looked down as well.

He moved first, lowering his arm slowly to wrap his hand around Blaine. Blaine groaned lowly in his throat, Kurt's hand felt _amazing_. It was so much different than his own. Years of woodworking had left Blaine's hands hard and rough, but Kurt's were a complete polar opposite. Kurt stroked him a few times from base to tip and then he was gone. Kurt sat down on the bed and motioned Blaine to join him. He sat with his legs out and ushered Blaine to sit down between his legs, facing him. It was a little awkward crawling across the bed, but Blaine sat between Kurt's legs and Kurt lifted his legs over Blaine's thighs. Blaine wrapped his legs around Kurt's back and they were sitting so close, but Kurt shuffled forward just a little bit more and their cocks brushed against each other gently. Their chests were almost touching and soon they were as Blaine leaned forward to kiss Kurt passionately on the lips, wrapping his left arm around Kurt's shoulder and pulling them flush together.

Kurt reached down to wrap his hand around Blaine again, stroking him slowly. Blaine got the hint, reaching down with his right hand taking Kurt's dick in his hand, pumping him slowly. This was even _better_. Kurt kissed him a little more roughly, with more passion than anything. He worked his tongue into Blaine's mouth, licking at his teeth, his tongue, everywhere. Blaine pushed up into Kurt's tight grip, loving the friction that his soft hands provided. He had to pull away from the kiss just to breathe as he felt warmth pooling in his stomach.

"Kurt, I'm close." He groaned. Kurt nudged Blaine's hand out of the way and used his long fingers to wrap around both of them. His hand didn't quite fit all the way around them both, but the feeling Kurt's cock hot against his was overwhelming. Blaine placed his hand over Kurt's and they both moved against each other into the tight grip. It was a tangle of limbs, arms moving over skin and legs shifting across the bed with each thrust.

The hot drag of skin on skin quickly became too much. Blaine felt his entire body tremor in a way he had never experience before as he came over both their hands, back arched stiffly and calves trembling through his orgasm. He felt himself stop breathing, head falling back and eyes squeezing shut. Kurt followed soon after with a few more rough strokes, spurred on by the bliss on Blaine's face and the erotic noises escaping his throat. His eyes squeezed shut, feeling his release over his own fingers, mingling with Blaine's. Blaine continued to stroke both of them as Kurt came down from his high.

Both of them collapsed backwards onto the bed, Blaine lying half on top of Kurt. He could feel every rise and fall of Kurt's chest and the quick patter of his heart against his shoulder. The silence between them was easy, each taking the opportunity to listen to the other breathe.

"You're incredible, Kurt." Blaine whispered, lips ghosting Kurt's neck and jaw.

Kurt chuckled as blush began to creep up his neck at the compliment. He turned to kiss Blaine on the mouth and pulled him up against his chest. This kiss was slow and lazy, tongues gently trailing along lips.

Blaine had never felt closer to another person in his life. The idea was terrifying, but at the same time thrilling. As he came down from his post-orgasm haze, he realized how much of his heart belonged to the person next to him. This felt like so much **more**, being able to connect with another person so intimately. As he lay naked, pressed up against the boy of his dreams, he wondered if this was forever.

How did he get so lucky? How was it even possible that Kurt was laying next to him, exposing every last detail of himself to Blaine and somehow making their bond even stronger than it had previous been?

A realization crept through his mind and Blaine made no effort to push it away.

He was in love. He was in love with a boy duke by the name of Kurt Hummel.

vvvvv

Blaine sat down at his workbench, in thought. It would be a year exactly in just a few days that Kurt and Blaine made their relationship official (to each other anyways). He didn't have much but he really wanted to give something to Kurt for their anniversary. Blaine was young; he knew that. He knew he was just a teenager, but this felt different. This felt like forever. He wanted Kurt to know how serious he was about their relationship.

His father had given his mother earrings for their last anniversary; Blaine couldn't give Kurt earrings obviously but at least it was a place to start. He didn't exactly have experience buying gifts, especially not for boys, especially not anniversary gifts. But finally the idea came to him and set to work.

Blaine pulled a piece of parchment from the right side drawer and a pencil as well and began sketching a design. He was remarkably skilled with a pencil, just like he was with woodworking. It didn't take him long to come up with the design. It's was bit complex but he knew it would be perfect for Kurt. Once he finished the sketch and figured out the dimensions of the project, he began construction.

He grabbed a small wooden block from the shelf under his desk, which is where he keeps the scrap bits of wood that big enough to make things out of but small enough to not be any use to his father. Blaine began to carve out a raised oval shape. Then he cut the oval in half horizontally and hollowed it out. There was a little bit of gadgetry he had to work out, and he made several other cuts to the wood to accommodate that. It was then stained and painted and polished. Blaine admired his handy work and wondered to himself if Kurt would like the gift. He was sure Kurt had received much intricate and more expensive gifts in his day, but hopefully this would be enough.

vvvvv

"Close your eyes."

Kurt looked at him with a coy smile laced with slight skepticism but obliged. He felt Blaine take his hand in his left, gently pulling the fingers open and placing something in his palm. Blaine took his time, running his calloused fingers over Kurt's knuckles tenderly and Kurt couldn't escape the shiver that crawled up his spine. Blaine pulled away slowly and Kurt clutched around the mystery item, trying to guess what it is without looking.

Curiosity eventually got the better of him and he looked down, fingers uncurling slowly to reveal a beautifully crafted wooden necklace. The front and back of the locket was detailed with a simple white butterfly design. The wood was dark, elegantly stained to contrast the white design on either side. One end had a golden loop attached to it where a black string was threaded through.

"Blaine, it's beautiful! You made this? For me?" Kurt ran his fingers over the pendant affectionately as he spoke, feeling the grain of the wood under his fingertips. Blaine nodded sheepishly.

"For our anniversary." He told Kurt. "And there's a secret way to open it." Kurt handed the locket back to Blaine so he could show him how it worked. Blaine held the small wooden locket between his fingers, twisting the oval shaped pendant diagonally so it flipped around into a heart shape. The butterfly design morphed into a different pattern, which kind of looks like two butterflies kissing. Kurt wondered if that was intentional or not. Maybe he just had a wild imagination. Blaine looked up to Kurt's face and Kurt was staring attentively at his hands. He slid the now heart-shaped locket sideways, pivoting open at the bottom point of the heart. It opened to reveal a small circular picture of Blaine, probably cut from a family photo.

"I always wanted a picture." Kurt smiled even wider, teeth peeking out behind his lips. He gently took the locket from Blaine's hands to admire the small photo of Blaine hidden away inside the necklace. It was so clever; even if his family were to find the pendant it was very unlikely that anyone would be able to figure out how to open it without being instructed. He brushed a single finger over the picture before closing it and bringing it to his lips. He pressed a soft kiss to the locket case and Blaine blushed. "And now I have one. Thank you Blaine, I absolutely love it."

Blaine reached to take the pendant in his hands again, untying the knot in the thread and bringing the two ends around Kurt's neck. Kurt leaned into him to make it easier for Blaine to tie it around his neck, briefly nuzzling his cheek up against Blaine's just because he could. Blaine chuckled, tying a knot at the back of Kurt's neck and stepping back. Kurt instinctively brought his hand up to cradle the locket and pressed it against his chest. It was long enough that Kurt could hide it under his clothes so no one would see him wearing it, Blaine made sure of that. As much as he wanted the world to know they are together, he knew that they couldn't make their relationship public in the slightest. Not if they wanted to be together at all. And Blaine was okay with that, because it meant he got to be with the boy that he was in _love_ with.

"I got you something as well." Kurt piped up, interrupting Blaine's train of thought. "But you're not allowed to badger me about it."

"Badger you?" Blaine giggled. Only Kurt would say something like that.

"Yes, you're not allowed to get mad or hassle me about it." Kurt huffed, clearly trying to make a point without giving away what he wanted to give to Blaine.

"Why would I get mad Kurt? I could never be mad at you." Then Blaine realized why. Because odds were that Kurt has gotten him something expensive and that's why he'd made a big deal out of it.

"Just- I just wanted to get this for you so just enjoy it, okay? And don't ask me what I paid for it." Kurt looked nervous, but Blaine nodded and a smile grew on Kurt's face. He reached towards the ground to pick up his bag that he brought with him. He pulled out a large object from the bag that was wrapped in simple brown paper, and Blaine immediately knew what it was.

"Kurt…" He stared at the object as Kurt brought it up between them and placed it in his hands.

"I hope you like it, Blaine." Kurt shied away, clearly wondering if he made the right choice. Blaine could feel the smooth, curved back in his hands and the long neck was a dead giveaway. He started at the neck, pulling the paper away carefully. Immediately he was greeted with a beautiful dark ebony fret board and golden tuning pegs on the head. He continued to peel the paper down, eyes growing wider as he did so. Soon he could see the soundboard, a pale pine colour with an intricately designed grille to cover the sound hole. The intertwining vine design of the grille was painted gold. Eventually the paper was completely off and Kurt took it from him, crumpling it up and tossing it into his bag. Blaine turned the object towards himself, spinning it around in his hands as he admired the back. Cherry wood ribs covered the entire back, the entire instrument just screamed expensive and Blaine couldn't believe that he was even holding the thing.

"I know you already have one, but I saw this one and it made me think of you. Your old one is falling apart; I noticed when you showed it to me the first time… I hope it's okay." Blaine just stared at him open mouthed for a moment, unsure of exactly how to speak again.

"Kurt, this is the most incredible lute I've ever seen in my life!" His voice squeaked at the end of his sentence due to excitement and shock. He caressed the neck in his hand and strummed his hand over the strings, nails catching which caused a tune to float through the air. "I can't believe you got this for me, it's beautiful…" He wanted to say more, wanted to protest that Kurt shouldn't have spent all that money on him but he said he wouldn't. Instead he grabbed the neck in his right hand and threw his arms around Kurt's shoulders (carefully avoiding any instrument collisions) and squeezed him tightly. "Thank you so much, Kurt."

"Maybe you could play me something sometime?" Kurt offered with a cheeky smile after they pulled away. He wasn't sure if he'd ever told Blaine how much he liked musicians and music in general, but he did. Blaine spun the instrument in his hands.

"Why don't I play you a little something right now?" Blaine grinned, strumming the strings again. He invited Kurt to sit down with him and began strumming the opening chords to a tune. It's very upbeat and peppy, and unfamiliar Kurt.

_There once was a farmer who took a young miss  
><em>_In back of the barn where he gave her a...  
><em>_Lecture on horses and chickens and eggs  
><em>_And told her that she had such beautiful-_

"Blaine!" Kurt smacked him in the arm and Blaine couldn't help but burst out into laughter.

"What?" He feigned innocence. "You've never heard Sweet Violets?" He arched his brow at Kurt and Kurt just shook his head, giving Blaine a look of obvious distaste. He knew he was going to get a rise out of Kurt for that song, but he couldn't resist.

"Maybe another song then." Blaine said through his chuckles. He strummed out another chord, trying to recall the song from memory. The song was much slower and sweeter, and Kurt actually knew what song it was.

"Sing the chorus?" Blaine grinned at him and Kurt smiled back and nodded.

_Once in the dear ol' days beyond recall,  
><em>_When on the world the mists began to fall,  
><em>_Out of the dreams that rose in happy throng  
><em>_Low to our hearts Love sang an old sweet song;  
><em>_And in the dusk where fell the firelight gleam,  
><em>_Softly it wove itself into our __**dream**__._

Blaine looked wistfully at Kurt; he'd chosen this song on purpose. It made him think of their relationship whenever he'd played it before. How he's dreamed of being with Kurt and the dreams they now share together. He hoped Kurt would feel the emotion in every word he sang.

Kurt took over the verse as requested and Blaine continued to strum on his brand new lute.

_Just a song at twilight, when the lights are low,  
><em>_And the flick'ring shadows softly come and go,  
><em>_Tho' the heart be weary, sad the day and long,  
><em>_Still to us at twilight comes Love's old song,  
><em>_Comes Love's old sweet song._

Blaine picked up again.

_Even today we hear Love's song of yore,  
><em>_Deep in our hearts it dwells forevermore.  
><em>_Footsteps may falter, weary grow the way,  
><em>_Still we can hear it at the close of day.  
><em>_So till the end, when life's dim shadows fall,  
><em>_Love will be found the sweetest song of all._

Kurt and Blaine sung the last verse together, gazing intently at each other while they sang.

_Just a song at twilight, when the lights are low,  
><em>_And the flick'ring shadows softly come and go,  
><em>_Tho' the heart be weary, sad the day and long,  
><em>_Still to us at twilight comes Love's old song,  
><em>_Comes Love's old sweet song._

The last line of the song finished and there was a moment of stillness and silence between them both.

"Let's do it." Kurt stated. Blaine stared at him in confusion.

"Do what?"

"Let's leave. Let's go to China together, see the world. Let's live our dreams." Kurt had so much emotion in his eyes; Blaine knew he wasn't kidding around. He knew this is serious.

"Are you sure, Kurt? Are you sure you're ready to leave everything behind just for me? For us?" Blaine didn't want to talk Kurt out of it, not really. Of course he wanted Kurt to come with him. But at the same time, there would be no turning back. Once they realized Kurt was gone, everyone would be looking for him.

"I want this more than anything, Blaine. I love you." Kurt crawled forward on his knees, wrapping his arms around Blaine's shoulders and hugging him close. Blaine pressed his lips to Kurt's cheek.

"I love you too, Kurt." He said, placing the lute next to him on the ground and pulling Kurt into his lap. He wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist, just holding each other for a moment. It's the first time they've actually said it out loud to each other like that. Blaine knew he was in love with Kurt for such a long time and he'd always guessed Kurt felt the same way, but they'd never said it. And now, it just feels like so much more. It feels like he's giving the last piece of himself to Kurt and Kurt is doing the same.

Blaine threaded their hands together; smiling at how much taller Kurt is than him when he's sitting in his lap like this. That is until Kurt leaned his head back on Blaine's shoulder and Blaine pulled them both to the ground, backs brushing against dirt which wasn't exactly the most comfortable, but Blaine didn't mind. Kurt fit perfectly against his shoulder, nuzzling into his neck and just holding each other. Blaine felt like he could stay like this forever.

"This Friday, we'll go." Blaine said definitively and Kurt didn't argue. He wanted to give Kurt time to change his mind, but he secretly wished they could leave together right now. Kurt moved up over Blaine, hovering over his chest and pressing their lips together. Blaine sighed into the kiss, moving his arm up behind Kurt's neck and stroking along his jaw. Kurt smiled against his lips before pulling back, face slightly flushed and eyes shining happily.

"Friday."

vvvvv

"Kurt, where are you?" Blaine towed a mule along side him with bags full of necessities for the trip thrown over its' back; food, water, clothes, etc. They were finally going to do it; they were finally going to run away together.

Except Kurt didn't get away cleanly this time. The guards noticed when Kurt left. And now they were being followed, which definitely wasn't part of the plan.

"Blaine, I'm here." Kurt called, running through the trees of the forest towards him. It was their plan to meet up at the safe house, the shack in the forest, before heading off together.

"Quickly, we must hurry. They're coming." Blaine whispered, starting to walk.

"Duke von Teschen!" _Shit_. The soldiers sounded a lot closer then Blaine had realized. There was no way they were going to be able to outrun the soldiers in the dark, not with both of them and the mule. These were soldiers after all, physically built for these kinds of scenarios. Blaine made a decision and swung open the shack door. Kurt ran inside, pulling the mule along with him and led it to the opposite side of the shack. Blaine closed the door swiftly behind them.

Kurt pulled Blaine to him and they slid to the floor, backs to the wall. Blaine prayed that some God would make it that the soldiers didn't find the shack, that the soldiers didn't find them. Kurt fisted his hands into Blaine's shirt desperately and nuzzled his face into Blaine's neck.

"Make us disappear. Please Blaine, make us disappear." Kurt sounded so desperate and broken. Blaine tried not to cry. He closed his eyes, evening out his breath and he tried to focus, tried to make them disappear so the soldiers wouldn't find them. He'd never done it before. He'd never made a person disappear, definitely not two people. But he had to try.

"Duke von Teschen!" The guards were yelling in the forest and every time their screams cut into him, setting a fire to his concentration and his mind went racing trying to get it back. But he couldn't. He couldn't do it. He couldn't make them disappear. He felt Kurt's tears against his neck and there was nothing he could do.

"Stop, there." One of the men pointed to the shack. It was impossible to hide it but Blaine had hoped they'd run past and not notice. He was wrong. Suddenly he felt a flash of déjà vu, that feeling of failure that he'd had in the shack with Kurt that he'd tried to push away. He had failed after all. The man in front swung open the door and immediately grabbed at Kurt, pulling him, no _dragging_ him from Blaine's embrace and out onto the forest floor. Blaine followed after him.

"Don't do this!" Kurt sobbed, tears streaking down his face. Kurt knew what this meant. He knew it was over and he just wasn't ready. He would never be ready for this. Blaine wrestled harder, moving forward a few steps and was able to take Kurt's hand in his. He tried to thread their fingers together but they were pulled apart before he could get a solid grip.

"Let him go!" Blaine screamed, _roared_, as two men grabbed his arms. He shoved roughly at their forearms as he was held back.

"Let me go, let me go!" Kurt cried, trying to tear away the large hands on him. It was hopeless. He and Kurt were only teenagers, there was no way they could escape the soldiers' grasp. The man moved to grab Kurt around the waist, pulling him farther away from Blaine.

"No! Kurt!" Blaine called after him, pushing forward with every last bit of strength in his body. His feet slid against the forest floor with effort but he made no progress.

"Please, let go of me! Blaine!" Kurt was looking at him through his tears, trying desperately to claw the hands off his body as he was being pulled farther away. Blaine couldn't take his eyes off him. He tried to memorize every detail of him, tried desperately to think of something to say or something to do to make this better.

"Kurt! I'm sorry!" Blaine called cried out, unable to think of anything else. The men held him back and away from Kurt, and then shoved him harshly to the ground. He felt his back and head slam roughly against the ground and he briefly forgot where he was. And just like that, Kurt was gone. He tried to stand, to run after him but he was shoved roughly back to the ground again. He winced at the pain in his back and neck.

"Stay away from him, peasant, or next time we _will_ arrest you." The man spat in disgust. "And you're family too." He added before both men walked away, taking the mule with them, leaving Blaine alone on the forest floor.

Blaine felt tears prick his eyes. Of course: of course they'd threaten his family. They couldn't just threaten him and leave it at that. Blaine would have risked his chances of going to prison if it meant he could be with Kurt for just a _moment_ longer. But as much as he loved Kurt, he could not be the reason for his parents ending up in prison. He couldn't, he loved them too much and he was not so selfish as to put his happiness before his family.

He leaned forward on the forest floor, bringing his hands to cover his face. He could feel dirt under his knuckles as he wept, the wetness seeping into his hands and running down his face. His knees and forearms felt damp against the moist soil, but he couldn't bring himself to care. The sobbing increased as he fell onto his side, curling up into a fetal position.

This was it. This was truly the end. Blaine would never see Kurt again.

* * *

><p><strong>Songs used:<strong>

'Sweet Violets' by Joseph Emmet, from his 1882 play _Fritz Among the Gypsies_

youtube[dot]com/watch?v=QSAo2WMXDXA#t=0m45s

'Love's Old Sweet Song' by James Lynam Molloy and G. Clifton Bingham, 1884.

youtube[dot]com/watch?v=joFUGDwEwIs


End file.
